This invention relates to apparatus for teaching both young and old golf pupils as well as golfers how to swing a golf club correctly. When properly swung and after much repetition, correct muscle activity will gradually develop into lasting muscle memory that stays with a golfer for a long while.
In most cases golf pupils unfortunately practice bad habits and they try to bring the golf club down through on the same path the club traveled on the backswing. This is a physical impossibility. Whereas, in truth, the golfer and pupil should take the club back along one path during the backswing, and down through the ball-striking position along an entirely different path.
A golf pupil can observe and try to copy the swing of his favorite golf professional, whose book on Golf is usually well illustrated with photographs. But, soon the golf pupil comes to the realization that he cannot swing his clubs like his favorite professional, and so the pupil becomes discouraged. He then adds another book to his library of golf books and he is no better off than when he first read the golf book.
The prior art is replete with devices that are designed to teach a golf pupil how to achieve that elusive "perfect swing", but, so far as is known, no prior art reference has been found to be completely satisfactory.
The intentional alignment of the face of the golf club to the ball has long been the main obstacle of a good golf swing. It should be realized that the face of the club head is square to the line of intended flight of the ball for only a split second of time during the perfect swing. Yet, most golfers and golf pupils try to keep the face of the club square to the flight path at all times. Such intentional effort takes away from the player and from the pupil alike the fluidity of swing and body movement that is needed to properly strike a golf ball.
Use of the present invention, however, instills in the mind of the pupil and the golfer a "mind's eye view" of the correct golf swing, and it takes away from the pupil and the golfer, when the apparatus of the invention is manipulated correctly, the natural inclination to want to "steer" the club head along a certain, but incorrect path toward the ball.
I have found that once a golf pupil and golfer learns how to make a proper backswing, he instinctively makes a proper downswing. Using the apparatus and practicing the method of my invention achieves this objective.